Jasper2009

You should be able to just have the cert redeemed electronially by calling the FPC line.

AAL

Well, one choice was the Plaza, so I knew that was a long shot -- availability for next June is already gone. The other choice was the Kea Lani; I called twice and got the same answer (no availability - for early November).

philemer

I checked some early Nov. dates & there is a lot of avail. at Kea lani. What's up? I thought if a room was avail. to rent the free certs could grab 'em. Hmmm.

birdyy

Thanks much for the reply.

Do you think it takes the full 4-6 weeks for them to show up?

I'm very unfamiliar with the program so not totally clear whether these are electronic or paper certificates.

My anniversary is the end of July and I want to use this free night in Sept. I'm probably cutting it way to close.

AAL

Yes, there definitely are rooms available at the Kea Lani on the dates I will be in Maui. But apparently the certificates can't be used for those rooms. The Kea Lani is actually the reason that I got the Fairmont Visa card, so it's looking like a card that I won't be keeping for a second year. There just aren't that many Fairmonts, and they aren't in places that I am going to visit during the next year.

gregorygrady

FWIW, I've said this upthread, but the Chase Visa $25 certs are ONLY valid for Dining, they are NOT also valid at the Willow Stream spas according to the T&Cs. Only the Plat $25 certs are valid for both Dining and Willow Stream.

gregorygrady

Where are you getting this info? It is my understanding that the signup 2 free nights and the $12k spending per year will be the same type of free night certs. And they are NOT subject to capacity controls (with the exception of The Plaza & Savoy hotels).

I don't recall reading in this thread that any of the signup $1k or anniversary $12k free night certs would be different. The only free night certs which would not be subject to ANY capacity controls would be the Category D Ovation certs which you can redeem your accrued Chase (faux) Fairmont pts for. Those would come with breakfast just like all Ovation certs, and they have no blackout nor capacity controls, even at Savoy/Plaza, but would cost an arm and a leg to buy, as they require 65k fako Chase Fairmont pts for a Category D Ovation redemption.

gregorygrady

As with I believe all credit card free nights across all chains, the free nights only book into the base category room. Not sure why you would expect otherwise. And you CAN check availability for these free nights (with the exception of Savoy/Plaza). If a base "Fairmont Room" (or Fairmont Suite at Kea Lani) is available for a paid reservation, then it will also be available to redeem your free credit card awards for. If the base Fairmont Room is NOT available, then you cannot redeem your free credit card nights there. Not sure why there is confusion about this as this is fairly standard across all hotel chains with credit cards.

If you keep checking back often, it's possible Fairmont Suites in Kea Lani might open up for your dates.

AAL

Thanks for the clarification. It is confusing because different hotels call their standard rooms by different names. It appears that Fairmont suites are available at the Kea Lani for one of the nights I asked about, so I will call again.

How does the room upgrade or suite upgrade fit into the equation, if I want to use one or the other with my free certificates? Does there still need to be a Fairmont room available before they will consider the suite upgrade, for example?

gregorygrady

As far as I know, most Fairmonts actually DO call their base rooms "Fairmont Rooms", or in the case of an all-Suite property like Kea Lani they call them a "Fairmont Suite". I admit it IS a little confusing in that some properties have a room category BELOW the base room that is called a "Moderate Room". These rooms basically are very tiny and/or overlook the trash dumpster in the parking lot.

One other thing that somewhat annoys me with Fairmont is what you brought up next: If you want to use a free room/suite upgrade certificate, the base room AND the upgraded room must both be available for booking. You'd think common sense would dictate that only the upgraded room/suite would need to be available, but unfortunately that is not the case, rather BOTH room types must be available. Oh well, it is what it is. If you keep checking back often enough, I find that rooms sometimes open up, especially right around the normal cxl deadline for that particular hotel.

azepine00

I am gonna bring this topic up once again as benefits description ("earned through stays") seem to suggest status qualification through stays and maintaining premier just for keeping this card:

Existing Premier and Platinum Members Receive an Annual Fairmont Gold Upgrade*
As you maintain your Fairmont President's Club Platinum or Premier status earned through your stays, you will receive a Fairmont Gold Floor upgrade certificate, plus dining certificates to enjoy once per year.

So do we know for sure if keeping this card maintains premier status?

AAL

Thank you for that explanation. I suspected that was the situation and I appreciate the confirmation.

azepine00

my common sense suggests that giving away a suite just for filling out cc application is crazy but what do i know...

gregorygrady

Very good point. I guess common sense is in the eye of the beholder.

MightyTravels

Rcvd wife's first Fairmont card today. What a nice surprise - beautiful booklet, card came already activated, only 2 days from filling the form on chase.com to the delivery at our doorstep. I'm really impressed. Miles ahead of the CSP in terms of displaying a premium image.

We've never been to a Fairmont hotel - if they are equally impressive I'll be stoked.